105946: Giving zakaah to charitable organisations to distribute

Is it permissible to pay zakat directly into the accounts of the charitable organizations, while there are people in the same city where I live who might deserve it?.

Published Date: 2009-04-18

Praise be to Allaah.

It is permissible to transfer
zakaah money into the accounts of charitable organisations so that they can
distribute it if the people in charge of that are trustworthy and will give
the zakaah to the classes of people who are entitled to it according to
sharee’ah.

The basic principle
concerning zakaah is that it should be given to the poor in the country in
which the money is. If it is necessary to transfer it elsewhere, such as if
the poor people in the country to which it is transferred are in greater
need or they are relatives of the person who is giving zakaah in addition to
being poor, and so on, then it is permissible to send it.